The minimum salary that will allow an individual to qualify as a skilled
worker and be eligible to work in the UK will also rise from £17,000 to £20,000.

And overseas workers wanting to transfer to the UK must have worked for their
firm for at least a year rather than just the six months needed prior to the
latest changes.

Johnson said the government had fully accepted the recommendations of the
Migration Advisory Committee.

"These changes will ensure that businesses can recruit the skilled foreign
workers that the economy needs, but not at the expense of British workers, nor
as a cheaper alternative to investing in the skills of the existing workforce,"
he said.

The commission made 13 other recommendations that will be adopted to ensure
that the points-based system does more to support UK workers.

The committee's report said that intra-company transfers - often popular with
offshore outsourcing companies - should not lead to a right to permanent
residence. It also recommended the government give consideration to whether the
level of resource devoted to enforcement of intra-company transfers is
sufficient and whether the degree of transparency could be increased.

Unions and employment groups in IT have been critical in the past of firms
that use intra-company transfers to bring in offshore workers to fill roles
that may previously have been occupied by local staff.

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